2023 Kdrama Revenant Ending finale Episode 12 Recap & Review+2 highlights

Korean drama “Revenant” ending episode 12 recap : the storyline goes as follows: San-Yeong’s shadow returns to its original form. However, Hae-Sang, who sealed the demon object, becomes aware that something is not right.

Previous Episode (EP11)
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Kdrama Revenant Episode 12 Recap & Ending

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In the continuation of Revenant episode 11, Yeom Hae-Sang realizes that they have found something they shouldn’t have after Gu San-Yeong’s revelation. Yoon Gyeong-Mun, who has just been discharged from the hospital, is completely confused whether Gu San-Yeong in front of him is a demon or his daughter.

Gu San-Yeong claims that everything is over. Yeom Hae-Sang notices that there is no Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost shadow alongside Gu San-Yeong and becomes puzzled. It seems like Gu San-Yeong now has no connection whatsoever with Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost; even when encountering the hairpin, there are no memories resurfacing.

They have no clue where Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost has gone. At this moment, Yeom Hae-Sang learns about his grandmother’s death and he continues to search for Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost at the morgue. Deep down inside, Yeom Hae-Sang also feels reluctant towards his grandmother and believes she should at least apologize before leaving. Therefore, he gets angry at Kim Chi-Won for using a demon to kill his grandmother.

🎀Gu San-Yeong puts away all the photos in their house and suggests to their mother that they should travel and experience things they haven’t done before in order to live happily. They plan on taking new photos to fill up picture frames and Gu San-Yeong even wants to pursue art education to become an artist.

However, their mother senses something amiss because it never crossed Gu San-Yeong’s mind to become an artist before this moment. She asks if Gu San-Yeong intends on painting that moon painting again which leads them to avoid answering further questions.

The mother realizes that the person standing before her is not her daughter but a demon instead; once exposed as a demon, it doesn’t hide anything from the mother. Gu San-Yeong, who has regained consciousness, suddenly realizes that the demon hasn’t disappeared. This is because a moon painting mysteriously appeared in their house and their mother has gone missing.

🎀Suddenly, the demon appears in physical form and chases after Gu San-Yeong. Once again, Gu San-Yeong is possessed by the demon and visits several stores looking at highly toxic substances that can harm people. Lee Hong-Sae understands that the demon hasn’t been eliminated, so they directly ask why it changed its criminal methods this time and decided to act personally instead of using invisible forces like before.

On the other hand, Yeom Hae-Sang seals off various items but encounters Yoon Gyeong-Mun unexpectedly attacking them. Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost claims that by doing so, they can save Gu San-Yeong trapped inside the mirror. Yeom Hae-Sang is dumbfounded as now both shadows and actual bodies have switched places; their previous sealing method could also endanger Gu San-Yeong’s safety.

Lee Hong-Sae discovers an unusual scar on Na Byung-Hee’s left index finger when learning about her death and upon reviewing surveillance footage, they realize it must be some kind of message she wanted to leave behind.

🎀Yeom Hae-Sang suddenly realized that the index finger represents the one Choi Man-Wol cut off from Lee Mok-Dan. So, where is Lee Hyan-Gi ‘s index finger? After confirming that Lee Hyan-Gi ‘s remains were missing a finger, Yeom Hae-Sang believed that if it wasn’t in the warehouse, it must be at home. If he could find and burn the finger, he could eliminate the demon.

On the other hand, Yoon Gyeong-Mun went back to inform the demon that Yeom Hae-Sang was looking for the finger. He hoped to exchange this information for sparing Gu San-Yeong from being destroyed by Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost. Therefore, Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost made Yoon Gyeong-Mun drink a beverage mixed with chemicals and used his phone to tell Lee Hong-Sae that they intended to kill her. This way, they could lure both of them out of Yeom Hae-Sang’s house and take away the grandmother’s hidden finger.

🎀However, Yeom Hae-Sang unexpectedly appeared behind them but was cautious enough to realize it was a ploy by the demon to divert attention. As a result, Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost inadvertently helped Yeom Hae-Sang find the finger.

She complained about Gu San-Yeong’s desire for self-destruction despite having so much potential happiness ahead of her life as Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost herself longed for another chance at happiness with demons gone from their lives. When Yeom Hae-Sang snatched away the sacred body containing the finger, Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost started hurting Gu San-Yeong’s body as a threat against him; thus preventing him from returning safely.

🎀Gu San-Yeong had no choice but to obey while Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost took advantage of this opportunity and harmed Yeom Hae-Sang. Just when Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost thought everything was over, she began losing control of her body. It turned out that Gu San-Yeong had struggled to come back from another world because she realized that she had never lived for herself or made choices for herself in this life. She also understood why she had been so cruel to herself in the past.

🎀Therefore, this time Gu San-Yeong decided to live for herself and used her willpower to control Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost’s will, making her destroy the sacred body with her own hands. Some time later, Gu San-Yeong fulfilled her long-held wish list with her mother and Baek Se-Mi, cherishing every moment and enjoying life to the fullest. Yoon Gyeong-Mun became more self-aware after what happened but still experienced anxiety whenever demons were mentioned.

🎀Nowadays, Gu San-Yeong helps her mother run a coffee shop despite having some issues with her eyesight. However, she is willing to accept it all and make the most of the time before going blind by pursuing things she wants to do and living the life she desires.

Yeom Hae-Sang continues his career as a professor but is considered eccentric by his students not only because he can see ghosts but also because he donated billions of Korean won inheritance to society.

🎀Yeom Hae-Sang takes Gu San-Yeong to witness a purification ceremony where they see how happy ghosts become through this ritual. He hopes that Gu San-Yeong can find happiness too. During this ceremony, Ku Kang-Mo apologizes to Yoon Gyeong-Mun while Seo Moon-Choon praises Lee Hong-Sae for doing an excellent job.

Kdrama Revenant Episode 12 Ending explained & review + 2 highlights

Revenant Ending: Is Demon trying to replace Gu San-Yeong by searching for items?

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Revenant episode 12 the ending is truly chilling. The screenwriter and director have portrayed the demon’s terrifying presence to its fullest extent. Revenant has always been more than just a typical horror drama. The screenwriter and director cleverly create illusions that blur the line between demons and humans, making it difficult for viewers to distinguish between them.

In a sudden twist at the beginning of this episode, the evil spirit juvenile ghost disappears, and Gu San-Yeong’s shadow returns to normal. Although we may feel relieved that the demon seems to have vanished, it turns out that it has taken over Gu San-Yeong’s true self by replacing his scattered soul. This sense of uncertainty is vividly depicted through Gu San-Yeong’s mother, especially in several scenes where he suddenly becomes left-handed.

I really appreciate how Revenant has been building up the reason why demons want Gu San-Yeong and Yeom Hae-Sang to find five specific items since a few episodes ago. I was amazed by how deeply this foreshadowing was buried in the demon’s ending in Episode 12! I had always wondered if finding these five items would somehow “break a seal,” and while my guess was partially correct, there is so much more behind this story about these items. The screenwriter skillfully portrays not only the demon’s resentment but also its “greed” and desires. Ultimately, what the demon seeks is none other than “the jade hairpin,” which holds great significance when viewed from Juvenile Ghost ritual perspective.

In Korean folklore, Juvenile Ghosts are formed by souls of deceased infants or those who were aborted or miscarried babies. However, as time passed, various methods emerged for creating Juvenile Ghosts; one thing remained constant – they were created through malicious means.” Most commonly starting with child abduction followed by days of starvation and torment, the child’s immense resentment grows.

Then, when the child is at their breaking point due to hunger, they are presented with a container or bamboo tube filled with food as bait. At this moment, they are killed and their vengeful souls attach themselves to the container (the screenwriter made some adaptations; in this case, Juvenile Ghost’s resentment is actually attached to “the jade hairpin”).

So when Yeom Hae-Sang finds the jade hairpin, we realize that demon’s resentment was not solely confined to the red hair accessory as we previously thought – it was just the beginning.

In the 12th episode, the plot of the demon’s ending is really cleverly crafted to bring out the extreme longing in Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost’s heart when he was alive:

• ➊ He hoped to be born into a wealthy family (so the demon deliberately paved the way for Gu San-Yeong to inherit his grandmother’s inheritance),
• ➋ He hoped to have a happy family and a mother (so Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost in the past paved the way for Yeom Hae-SangGu San-Yeong to find the jade hairpin and break the seal, thereby replacing Gu San-Yeong and occupying his body to live a happy life),
• ➌ He hoped someone would love him (so Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost said to Lee Hong-Sae, “Can’t you like me?”). The path that Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost has been paving all along is not only for revenge but also for fulfilling his longing for a family! The writer portrays the will and desire of demons wanting to survive.

Revenant Ending: The face that plunged me into darkness is none other than my own. I am killing myself.

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Grandma told Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost that she did not mention “that thing”, which turned out to be Lee Hyan-Gi’s index finger. This is one of the important elements to summon Juvenile Ghost, and it was a crucial part that was overlooked in the demon elimination ritual.

Although in Revenant Episode 12, the ending of the demon storyline was beautifully executed with Gu San-yeong taking full control over the decision-making process. It was a convincing design for Gu San-yeong to confront Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost, cleverly reflecting how the societal environment can erode one’s will to survive. In this oppressive society, people tend to choose escapism.

I really liked how in Revenant Episode 12, the writer allowed Gu San-yeong to use her own strength against Evil spirit Juvenile Ghost. The way this supernatural-themed drama concluded also alluded to how individuals can feel empty when facing such a repressive society.

People may lose themselves for money, power, and status while being controlled by society’s invisible forces. These intangible powers can make people lose their most genuine willpower. Therefore, in Revenant ending, Gu San-yeong chose to live for herself and make decisions for herself; she determinedly strives on her own terms~

In the past, Gu San-yeong had lost her will to survive but now she understands that life is meant for oneself rather than others. Her statement “The face that dragged me into darkness is my own self; I killed myself… When I realized this point, I couldn’t die anymore… I choose to live for myself and not for my mother or anyone else… I want to live based on my own will” forms an excellent portrayal of society as a whole.